Party: Democrat, Unionist
Term: April 15,1865 - March 4, 1869
Vice President: N/A
Andrew Johnson became president under pressing circumstances. The war had only just ended when Lincoln was assassinated and Johnson was called upon to recover the position of president. There were many important issues that needed to be dealt with, especially southern reconstrution, and the people were unsure if Johnson was the right man for the job. Johnson had very few posotive contributions, while owning up to a long list of negative ones. He also had a horrible relationship with Congress, which is never beneficial. Judging from this, I would give Andrew Johnson a "C" for his term as president.
President Johnson's main goal was the peaceful and lenient reconstruction of the South, as outlined by Lincoln. His opinion was that the South had never officially seceeded, as this was Unconstitutional. He wanted to help the Southeners while disturbing their lives as little as possible. He planned to reward the Southern states with full rights upon taking an oath of allegiance to the Union, following Lincoln's "ten percent plan". He also hoped to hold state conventions to address the problems of secession, Confederate war debts, and the ratification of the 13th Ammendment. Eventually, reconstruction was successful under Johnson's plans. It was also greatly aided by many acts passed by Congress. The Southern states slowly returned to the Union, and Johnson accomplished his goal as best he could. Total reconstruction would take time, of which Johnson had run out of after his first term.
Johnson's relationship with Congress was a very unpleasant one, as Congress had the cards stacked against him. A huge majority party of Unionists were able to easily override his presidential vetoes and could basically ignore the minority party of democrats with whom Johnson had formerly been a part of. Johnson, dubbed "Sir Veto" by Congress, had a total of twenty nine veotes, fifteen of which were overridden. Among those overridden were the Freedmans Bureau Act (1866), the District of Columbia Suffrage Act (1867), and four different reconstruction acts which included dividing the South into military districts and requiring the ratification of the 14th ammendment, allowing black voters. Clearly, Congress disagreed with Johnson on many topics. To top off his frustrations, Congress also passed over Johnson's veto the Tenure of Office Act in 1867, disallowing the removal of officials without consent from the Senate. When Johnson illegally removed Secretary of War Stanton after the passing of this act, Congress was quick to charge the "rebellious" president with impeachment for his "high crimes and misdemeanors". Although Congress failed to impeach the president (they were one vote short), the charges further harmed their relationship.
Johnson's positive contributions were very limited, especially compared to his negative actions. However, his most positive contribution was surely his purchase of Alaska from the Russians in 1867 for $7.2 million. Alaska proved advantageous not only because it further expanded our country, but also because of its copius natural resources, especially oil. Oil was in high demand at the time to use in lamps, which were the primary lighting fixtures in homes at the time. The high demand for oil meant that American companies could sell that oil at high prices, gaining monetarliy. Today, Alaska's vast oil reserves provide our country with much needed oil to power transportation and industrial intruments that run off of oil. Huge, lucrative oil companies are now centered in our country, providing employment to many Americans and large amounts of money that stimulates our economy. Alaskan oil also lessens our dependence on foreign oil, saving us money. Had Johnson not decided to purchase this land, we may have been buying our oil from the Russians. The monetary gain that the United States recieved from the purchase of Alaska was the most positive outcome of Johnson's decisions.
Actions of Johnson's that had the most negative outcomes were his long string of vetoes. His attempts to keep power out of the hands of the "radical republicans" or the Unionists not only hindered the growth of our country at a key point in reconstruction, but were made in vain since this majority party had the power to override the president. Many of his veotes were made on bills that would have proved beneficial to the citizens of our country, especially the African Americans. One prime example is his rejection of the Freedmans Bureau Act, which was fortunately overriden by Congress. This act provided blacks with education, medical services, land and jobs, all of which improved their standard of living. His white supremist attitude was evident in his decisions and went against the general mood of the Unionists as well as the direction our country was moving at that time. His vetoes continued to harm his relationship with Congress, which was seen to be his downfall. His defiance of Congress lead to his proposed impeachment, which he was lucky to escape. It is clear that Johnson's record twenty nine vetoes were definitely his worst decisions as president.
Johnson's decision of purchasing Alaska obviously influenced future generations, as mentioned above. Not only did the purchase provide more land for settlement, but this purchase also led to the discovery of vast, valuble oil reserves within the state. This new found abundance of oil then led to the creation of the large, lucrative oil companies that are present in our country today. A boom in oil powered methods of transportation and production proved these oil reserves to be especially helpful to our country. The oil industry is a main money maker for our country today, and provides jobs for millions of Americans. This decision influenced our country positively.
Although the country was in a seemingly better state at the end of Johnson's term as president, his grade of a "C" is still justifiable. Johnson didn't do much during his presidency. Many of the positive contributions at the time were owed in large part to Congress, who were forced to override the president to pass any advantageous legislation. Johnson's white supremist attitude kept the African American's down, which was unfortunate, especially after the country had fought a war on their behalf. The country had previously been ravaged by that war, so it is no wonder that conditions were better at the end of Johnson's presidency. The war had then been over for four years and reconstruction had begun. Anything was better than the war time conditions. Johnson was a mediocre president, corrolating to his mediocre grade. His only positive contributions were his purchase of Alaska, his admittion of Nebraska into the Union, and the ratifying of the 13th ammendement. These are the only contributions keeping him from a lower grade.
Sources:
Degregorio, William A.. "Andrew Johnson." The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents. New York: Easton Press, 2005. 247- 257. Print.
Richard L. Aynes, 39th Congress (1865-1867) and the 14th Amendment: Some Preliminary Perspectives, 42 Akron Law Review 1021 (2009).
(December 29, 1808 - July 31, 1875)
Party: Democrat, Unionist
Term: April 15,1865 - March 4, 1869
Vice President: N/A
Andrew Johnson became president under pressing circumstances. The war had only just ended when Lincoln was assassinated and Johnson was called upon to recover the position of president. There were many important issues that needed to be dealt with, especially southern reconstrution, and the people were unsure if Johnson was the right man for the job. Johnson had very few posotive contributions, while owning up to a long list of negative ones. He also had a horrible relationship with Congress, which is never beneficial. Judging from this, I would give Andrew Johnson a "C" for his term as president.
President Johnson's main goal was the peaceful and lenient reconstruction of the South, as outlined by Lincoln. His opinion was that the South had never officially seceeded, as this was Unconstitutional. He wanted to help the Southeners while disturbing their lives as little as possible. He planned to reward the Southern states with full rights upon taking an oath of allegiance to the Union, following Lincoln's "ten percent plan". He also hoped to hold state conventions to address the problems of secession, Confederate war debts, and the ratification of the 13th Ammendment. Eventually, reconstruction was successful under Johnson's plans. It was also greatly aided by many acts passed by Congress. The Southern states slowly returned to the Union, and Johnson accomplished his goal as best he could. Total reconstruction would take time, of which Johnson had run out of after his first term.
Johnson's relationship with Congress was a very unpleasant one, as Congress had the cards stacked against him. A huge majority party of Unionists were able to easily override his presidential vetoes and could basically ignore the minority party of democrats with whom Johnson had formerly been a part of. Johnson, dubbed "Sir Veto" by Congress, had a total of twenty nine veotes, fifteen of which were overridden. Among those overridden were the Freedmans Bureau Act (1866), the District of Columbia Suffrage Act (1867), and four different reconstruction acts which included dividing the South into military districts and requiring the ratification of the 14th ammendment, allowing black voters. Clearly, Congress disagreed with Johnson on many topics. To top off his frustrations, Congress also passed over Johnson's veto the Tenure of Office Act in 1867, disallowing the removal of officials without consent from the Senate. When Johnson illegally removed Secretary of War Stanton after the passing of this act, Congress was quick to charge the "rebellious" president with impeachment for his "high crimes and misdemeanors". Although Congress failed to impeach the president (they were one vote short), the charges further harmed their relationship.
Johnson's positive contributions were very limited, especially compared to his negative actions. However, his most positive contribution was surely his purchase of Alaska from the Russians in 1867 for $7.2 million. Alaska proved advantageous not only because it further expanded our country, but also because of its copius natural resources, especially oil. Oil was in high demand at the time to use in lamps, which were the primary lighting fixtures in homes at the time. The high demand for oil meant that American companies could sell that oil at high prices, gaining monetarliy. Today, Alaska's vast oil reserves provide our country with much needed oil to power transportation and industrial intruments that run off of oil. Huge, lucrative oil companies are now centered in our country, providing employment to many Americans and large amounts of money that stimulates our economy. Alaskan oil also lessens our dependence on foreign oil, saving us money. Had Johnson not decided to purchase this land, we may have been buying our oil from the Russians. The monetary gain that the United States recieved from the purchase of Alaska was the most positive outcome of Johnson's decisions.
Actions of Johnson's that had the most negative outcomes were his long string of vetoes. His attempts to keep power out of the hands of the "radical republicans" or the Unionists not only hindered the growth of our country at a key point in reconstruction, but were made in vain since this majority party had the power to override the president. Many of his veotes were made on bills that would have proved beneficial to the citizens of our country, especially the African Americans. One prime example is his rejection of the Freedmans Bureau Act, which was fortunately overriden by Congress. This act provided blacks with education, medical services, land and jobs, all of which improved their standard of living. His white supremist attitude was evident in his decisions and went against the general mood of the Unionists as well as the direction our country was moving at that time. His vetoes continued to harm his relationship with Congress, which was seen to be his downfall. His defiance of Congress lead to his proposed impeachment, which he was lucky to escape. It is clear that Johnson's record twenty nine vetoes were definitely his worst decisions as president.
Johnson's decision of purchasing Alaska obviously influenced future generations, as mentioned above. Not only did the purchase provide more land for settlement, but this purchase also led to the discovery of vast, valuble oil reserves within the state. This new found abundance of oil then led to the creation of the large, lucrative oil companies that are present in our country today. A boom in oil powered methods of transportation and production proved these oil reserves to be especially helpful to our country. The oil industry is a main money maker for our country today, and provides jobs for millions of Americans. This decision influenced our country positively.
Although the country was in a seemingly better state at the end of Johnson's term as president, his grade of a "C" is still justifiable. Johnson didn't do much during his presidency. Many of the positive contributions at the time were owed in large part to Congress, who were forced to override the president to pass any advantageous legislation. Johnson's white supremist attitude kept the African American's down, which was unfortunate, especially after the country had fought a war on their behalf. The country had previously been ravaged by that war, so it is no wonder that conditions were better at the end of Johnson's presidency. The war had then been over for four years and reconstruction had begun. Anything was better than the war time conditions. Johnson was a mediocre president, corrolating to his mediocre grade. His only positive contributions were his purchase of Alaska, his admittion of Nebraska into the Union, and the ratifying of the 13th ammendement. These are the only contributions keeping him from a lower grade.
Sources:
Degregorio, William A.. "Andrew Johnson." The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents. New York: Easton Press, 2005. 247- 257. Print.
Richard L. Aynes, 39th Congress (1865-1867) and the 14th Amendment: Some Preliminary Perspectives, 42 Akron Law Review 1021 (2009).